Tuesday, May 17, 2011

FEED YOUR FACE: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Hi, Jim's wife (Kathi) here. Jim asked me to post my recipe for pineapple upside down cake. He really, really likes it, so I think he may want to know how to make it for himself in case he gets hungry for it and I'm not around to make it for him. Though pineapple upside down cake usually seems to taste better when someone makes it for you than when you make it yourself.

The ingredients you will need are:

a box of white or yellow cake mix (plus 1/4 cup flour, if you are at altitude)

1/3 cup cooking oil

1-1/4 cups liquid (I use the juice from the pineapple rings and the juice from the cherries -- using the cherry juice can make the cake part look fluorescent pink if you use enough, which is how I really like it!)

3 eggs

can of pineapple rings (my can has 10 rings)

jar of maraschino cherries

stick of butter

brown sugar

First, get a skillet that can go into the oven at 350 degrees. The one I use is a 12" non-stick skillet. Jim would use a cast iron skillet if he were doing this.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in the skillet; then add as much brown sugar as you want. Some people like a little thin layer, I like a big thick layer. Sprinkle it over the butter.

Then lay the pineapple rings out however you want to. Add maraschino cherries, at least in the pineapple ring holes. We like more cherries, so we put them in each pineapple ring hole AND wherever else we can fit them. Yum.

Then mix up the cake batter using the dry cake mix, the eggs, oil, and liquid. I use my KitchenAid fluorescent pink stand mixer, but you can do it by hand or however you like to mix such things.

Pour the cake batter over the butter-sugar-pineapple ring-cherry stuff in the skillet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, more or less. Test it like you would a regular cake to check for doneness.

Let is sit on your cooling rack or stovetop or whatever you usually stick your pans on to cool for 10 minutes. Then get a big platter (a little larger in diameter than your skillet), place the platter face down on the skillet, then flip it over so the cake falls out on the platter.

Don't get overly excited and flip it too early because the pineapple rings might fall off or it might all get stuck in the skillet because you didn't let it cool enough to let the sugars set. Just ask me how I know!

Some people like to eat their pineapple upside down cake warm. I like mine really cold, like from the refrigerator. Some people like theirs garnished with whipped cream. Some like ice cream. Some like naked, like I do. Not eating it naked, just leaving the CAKE naked. (Though I guess eating it naked is fine, too, if you are like that.)